Undergraduate Portfolio

MICHAEL BRUSSEL PORTFOLIO B. ARCH VIRGINIA TECH

“Emotion is born of unity of aim.”

- Le Corbusier

IDEAS.

(n)

con•cep•tion (from: concept)

the forming of an idea

The following six structural and spatial conceptions reflect my belief that architecture becomes meaningful when it is unified by an idea.

I specifically use the word conception because architecture is the translation of idea into material form.

When an appropriate idea is selected for a project, and successfully manifested as form, the site is given meaning, and becomes a place of elevating experience.

If the architectural forms embodying the idea exist at all scales of human engagement, then the conception’s meaning can continue to unfold through a series of discoveries.

However, for those who are not in search of meaning, in a successful conception, hints of the idea will still be understood subconsciously, through visual (images of forms), and physical (movement in and around forms) means.

In this portfolio, each conception is presented to reveal its meaning in layers. A quick glance at one of the collages begins to communicate the idea, and with deeper attention, more layers of meaning are uncovered, and additional depth of the conception is revealed.

IDEAS.

STRUCTURE AS MAKER OF LIGHT.

CELEBRATION OF THE EARTH.

DELAYED SPACE .

EUCLIDEAN ORDER .

9

9

8

7

FRAMED VIEWS.

ORIENTING PROCESSION.

STRUCTURE AS MAKER OF LIGHT. PROGRAM:

Library

LOCATION:

Blacksburg, VA

STRUCTURE AS MAKER OF LIGHT. PROGRAM:

Library

LOCATION:

Blacksburg, VA

IDEA:

Structure as Maker of Light

DESCRIPTION:

The library’s bookshelves, structure, and natural light are all ordered within the wall’s grid of concrete form tie holes, which are left raw and exposed, as evidence of the wall’s construction.

“The structure is the maker of the light. The structure can make an opening, just as a column and a beam can. This is an opportunity for light.

And that means if I hide the structure I’ve lost the opportunity.”

- Louis Kahn

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The reflective pool makes the columns appear to be infinitely long. This visual mystery increases one’s desire to enter the library.

A system of light shelves held between columns allows daylight into the library, provides minimally obstructive views, and shades the interior from direct sunlight.

Balconies are supported by I-beams that protrude from the structural columns.

The form tie holes create a grid in which the structure (columns) and light (windows) are ordered.

CELEBRATION OF THE EARTH. PROGRAM:

Hotel

LOCATION:

Monte D’Oiro Winery, Portugal

CELEBRATION OF THE EARTH. PROGRAM:

Hotel

LOCATION:

Monte D’Oiro Winery, Portugal

IDEA:

Celebration of the Earth

DESCRIPTION:

This hotel is located on the Monte D’Oiro Winery, which is renowned for its world-class wine, whose flavor can be attributed to the limestone bedrock that the vineyard grows on.

The principal function of this hotel is to support the guest’s experieince of drinking wine, and exploring the vineyard.

The act of drinking wine is most commonly associated with celebration, and since the embodied definition of celebration is to raise something up, the architecture of this hotel celebrates the limestone earth by raising it above the surface. This move allows the true hero—limestone—to not only be seen by the guests, but also be experienced.

“Without the opportunity to ascend and descend, to enjoy the feelings of aspiring to heaven and then returning to earth, our journey may be a despirited one.”

- Kent C. Bloomer

VINEYARD

TOWN

In each guest house, rooms are accessed through a town-facing open-air circulation core.

There are no long, boring hallways to walk down; only a flight of stairs and door-front balconies, where effort is rewarded with view.

The vertical movement through the circulation core is supported materially and symbolically; the walls are patterned with vertically-oriented board formed concrete, which carry your eye upward, and the apertures are large and circular. A circle is an ideal, unattainable shape, layered with meaning of ascent, heaven and divinity.

Each guest room has a private balcony with expansive views of the vineyard.

The four guest houses are organized to optimize the guest’s experience as they walk from the entrance courtyard to their room.

The goal is for the guests to be immersed in their environment during their entire stay, leaving no places that don’t have a view of the town or vineyard.

The haphazard orientation of buildings prompts exploration, and resembles the layout of buildings in Lisbon.

To give the hotel and the guests some identity, the towers are each given their own identifiable color. When the guests are talking to other guests, or are walking in the vineyard, they can look from afar and say “We’re staying in blue tower.”

DELAYED SPACE .

PROGRAM:

Mixed-Use Affordable Housing Complex

LOCATION:

Chicago, IL

DELAYED SPACE .

PROGRAM:

Mixed-Use Affordable Housing Complex

LOCATION:

Chicago, IL

IDEA:

Delayed Space

DESCRIPTION:

This mixed-use affordable housing complex includes a variety of programs—apartments, retail stores, restaurants, community center, and train station—that allow this project to benefit all members of the community.

The design focus for this project results from observations of virtual distractions causing people in public to become disengaged from their surroundings.

In an effort to promote re-connection through architecture, this project consists of architectural elements specifically arranged to get and hold people’s attention long enough for them to engage with their surroundings and the people around them.

In collaboration with fellow B. Arch student Joon Kang

ACTIVE IMAGE

REPETITIVE LINEAR DEVICES

SMALL SPACE-DEFINING UNITS

FRAMING ELEMENTS

The addition of a new train station activates the southwestern corner of the site.

Commuters access the train station by crossing through a stepping-stone series of courtyards. The spaces of compression between the courtyards divide the courtyards into separate spaces, allowing each to have its own environment.

The differentiation in hardscape material defines the boundary of the courtyards with a frame. As a result, the hardscape discourages people from immediately passing through to the next courtyard.

The composition of the facade changes depending on where it is viewed from, causing one’s complete comprehension of the courtyard to require seeing it from different places.

The repetition of vertical lines on the facade break down the large mass into smaller geometries that relate to human scale. It takes longer to visually comprehend many smaller objects than one big object, so this facade delays the movement of people in the site.

Within the courtyard, seating areas are proportioned for one or two people, and outdoor rooms are created by tree canopies, which break down the large courtyard into a collection of smaller spaces.

EUCLIDEAN ORDER .

PROGRAM:

The Spatial Essence of “Spirit”

LOCATION:

Great Plains, NE

7

9

9

1

8

8

2 7

6

5

4

EUCLIDEAN ORDER .

PROGRAM:

The Spatial Essence of “Spirit”

LOCATION:

Great Plains, NE

IDEA:

Euclidean Order

DESCRIPTION:

The goal of this study was to create a spatial experience of “spirit.” The architectural translation that resulted was derived from spiritually significant numbers and geometries. Every design decision—including materiality, circulation, and the angle of the structure’s slope—was rooted in the spiritual meaning of 2, 3, or 9.

“Mathematical law is not just a prescription for beauty, nor even a means by which human beings are somehow able to comprehend their world, but the axis or ruling principle of the universe itself, and the source of the unity and harmony of nature and of art.”

- Richard Padovan

Angle of slope derived from nonagon (79˚ (79˚)

54’0” 9

1

9

8 8

2 7

7

7

3

4

3

2 6’0”

4

6 79˚ 1

23 DUALITY

EARTH FEET ON THE GROUND STURDY GROUNDED SOLID SIMPLE GEOMETRIES

BALA

HEAVEN HEAD IN THE CLOUDS ENERGETIC ELEVATING MOVEMENT DYNAMIC FORMS

HOLY TRINITY FATHER / MIND / BO TRIANGLE

39

ANCE

Y SON / HOLY SPIRIT ODY / SOUL

CYCLE

UNIVERSAL SPIRITUAL LAWS SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT SPIRITUAL AWAKENING CYCLE COMPLETION NONAGON THREE TRIANGLES

ELEVATION.

ROOF PLAN.

3

54’0”

2

1

1

2

2:

COLORS:

EARTH (ORANGE) SKY (BLUE)

ENERGY:

STURDY (BASE) DYNAMIC (SCULPTURE)

DIRECTION: EARTH (BASE) SKY (SCULPTURE)

3

3:

3 ELEVATIO 3 BLUE FRA 3 APERTUR TRIANGULAR TRIANGULAR FROM INSID

SECTION.

PLAN.

Meaningful angle of slope derived from nonagon (79˚ (79˚)

54’0” 9

1

9

8 8

2

7

7

3

4

3

2 6’0”

4

6

79˚ 1 5

ONS AGMENTS RES R ELEVATION R SKYLIGHT (FRAMES THE VIEW OF TOP OF THE SCULPTURE DE)

9:

SLOPE OF PYRAMID IS DERIVED FROM NONAGON MAXIMUM HEIGHT IS 9 VITRUVIAN MEN (54’) MAXIMUM HEIGHT INDICATED BY SCULPTURE ROOF PLAN IS 3 TRIANGLES

FRAMED VIEWS. PROGRAM:

Visitor Center for St. Luke’s Historical Church

LOCATION:

Smithfield, VA

FRAMED VIEWS. PROGRAM:

Visitor Center for St. Luke’s Historical Church

LOCATION:

Smithfield, VA

IDEA:

Framed Views

DESCRIPTION:

The functions of the Visitor Center—gathering, touring, preserving—are split among three formally and materially humble masses. The masses are arranged so the voids between them provide framed views of St. Luke’s Historical Church.

“We come to see not the work of art, but the world according to the work.”

- Maurice Merleau Ponty

The facades on the entrance-side of the site are unadorned, so they don’t distract from the view of the church building in the distance.

The masses of the visitor center are rotated around a radius centered on the church building so every wall points toward it.

The visitor center entrance is a symbolic reference to the two gravestones that lay at the altar of the church building. In this way, the moment of greeting the visitor center visually alludes to the visitor’s destination at the site.

Elevation diagrams study possible materials and scales of the symbolic entrance.

Since the stair exists within the void, it’s construction is intricate; a counterpoint to the solid building forms.

Large windows, plant screens, and an open floor plan keep visitors engaged with the site when they are indoors.

The glass cruises past the hung ceiling to hide the joint connection.

ORIENTING PROCESSION. PROGRAM:

Mosque

LOCATION:

Blacksburg, VA

ORIENTING PROCESSION. PROGRAM:

Mosque

LOCATION:

Blacksburg, VA

IDEA:

Orienting Procession

DESCRIPTION:

Islamic prayer is conducted through a procession of meditative actions. The architecture of this mosque supports the prayer procession with a series of spaces that add visual and embodied meaning to each action. The direction of Mecca is indicated by a thin vertical void, which holds water in the room for ablution, and light in the room for prayer.

The circulation path uses changes in elevation to direct the congregates’ attention to the sky and earth, and thresholds to obstruct or frame views.

The grand stair descends into the chasm in which the rooms of the mosque are held. Here, congregates are isolated from distractions of the outside world.

The entry to the prayer room begins at the top of a staircase. The low ceiling extends from the entryway into the room, and the stairs descend to the prayer space below. This movement forces the congregate’s attention to the ground, encouraging introspection and preparation for prayer.

In the open-air room for ablution, the congregate’s attention is brought to the sky. The unadorned walls frame a view of the sky, which your eye is led to by the stream that feeds the pool.

THANK YOU.